Balthazar's Quest
by Bory
Summary: The faeries are disappearing. Balthazar could no longer keep with the demand. He would have to do the unthinkable. He needed an apprentice.
1. Chapter 1

A loud roar shattered the silence of the forest. Balthazar was furious. He knew it was bound to happen. He'd barely caught half a dozen of the small glittering uber – faeries and less than that he managed to get into his sealed bottles. But why did it have to happen _now_ of all times? Especially as the demand for faeries had suddenly increased. He roared again, splitting the silence of the night.

He growled softly, remembering the stories his predecessor had recited. The relevant one soon revealed itself and his growling began to increase. It was the most irritating thing and the worst part was there was nothing he could do to prevent it. No one knew why the faeries shifted their colonies around, only that it happened fairly regularly over the course of several hundred years. There soon wouldn't be any left for kilometres around… and it probably would take _years_ to find them. It was not a task that he could easily complete on his own. "I'll have to get an _apprentice_!" He spat. It was humiliating for he, Balthazar, who had worked alone for many years, to admit to such a thing. He roared once more, bottles rattling in his paws, mostly empty.

– – –

A small red Lupe slipped quietly and quickly down a convenient alleyway. The cries of "Stop thief!" by the Chia police vanishing into the distance. Rayden sighed in relief and put down his prize – a meaty Chia Lupe treat. He muttered, "Must be getting better at this, they didn't get me this time." He set himself to devouring the meat. Tearing and chewing sounds reigned in the deserted alley. Rayden had been abandoned by his owner and had lived a terrible few days in the pound without food before he managed to escape. Since then he had been living on the streets of Neopia Central, grabbing a meal when he could. That was almost four months ago.

The Lupe Treat was almost gone now.

In that time he was caught three out of five times he managed to grab some food. He'd yet to find a Lupe pack that would take him in. He was virtually out of options but he didn't have the funds to book a trip on a boat that would take him to Mystery Island, for example.

The food was finished. Rayden padded back to the grubby alley entrance and peaked out. Seeing no sign of the police, he headed into the stream of traffic, his scruffy head obvious amongst the well groomed pets on the street outside and headed to the place he called 'home'.

Lying down in a cardboard box heaved from the garbage dump and moved into a cramped space between the shops he drifted off into an uneasy sleep with a half full stomach, dreaming of the Lupe hero Jeran.

Soon after Rayden suddenly jerked awake, started by a sudden noise. He had learned to sleep lightly since his first night out of the pound when he was wakened violently from where he collapsed in the doorway of a store. He shuddered. The way that the Meerca gang intimidated him was not an experience he wanted to repeat.

Night had fallen. He quickly calmed when he discovered it was no more than a Lenny's squawk. The bird itself seemed to be out for a late night walk. As he settled down again with a sigh, he was struck by a novel idea. "Why do I have to stay here any longer?" He murmured. "I may not be able to afford the trip, but I can certainly hide myself aboard a ship. I can try my luck in Meridell or the Haunted Woods. Surely there must be at least one Lupe pack that would accept a small, weak fighter like me." A sly grin crept over his face as he packed away his one thing of value. He took one look around his 'home' noticing again the evidence of decaying buildings and indescribable smells. While he was very tired, adrenaline was spurring him on and he left without a single backwards glance for the marina.

Darkness was best when you didn't want to be seen.


	2. Chapter 2

Balthazar wasn't entirely sure about how to go about finding an apprentice. One didn't just place an ad in the Neopian Times. While he would probably have gotten plenty of replies, exactly why would he _want_ anyone to know that he required help? Besides, the idea of actually paying for such a thing grated on his nerves. "Pretentious, over charging…" He muttered under his breath.

He glared back down at the map speared to his desk. It was covered in red circles, indicating that these were the main places that the faeries had once lived but were now not worthwhile to bother searching. He could just feel the mocking laughter they had to be voicing at his predicament. He jabbed his pen down and another red circle was added. His thoughts drifted again to his as yet unknown apprentice. It would have to be a Lupe, of that he was certain. No other Neopet species in Neopia had the superior physical qualities that made Lupes stealthy and great searchers.

He leaned back in his chair and looked at the trophies on his wall. Yes, the law abiding Neopians might despise both him and what he did, but they just could not resist the rewards that the faeries offered them in their gratitude. He grinned; his life was so much more interesting than any of theirs.

He remembered, a long time ago, the faeries had truly begun to hate him. They decided to be rid of him once and for all and began a war that spanned three of the miniature lands of Neopia. Queen Fyora had led them, and they had expanded to their full size. Balthazar had led his army of disconnected Lupe packs, each devotedly following his leadership. It had raged for years and the only result was an uneasy stalemate that still continued. The faeries may have had the magic, but his army had had the sheer determination.

It was unusual for a Lupe to live alone, and while almost any pack would have accepted him not only into their pack but as the dominant leader, he had his reasons for not accepting.

He stretched once more and went back to his problems, leaving behind his fantasy of reliving that old war, if only just for the moment.

– – –

The creaking of the timber all around him was beginning to get on Rayden's nerves. Sneaking aboard the _Prancing Waves_ had been much easier than he could have hoped for. He couldn't have been the first to try stowing away, on any ship, so why was the security so loose? It was beginning to worry him.

Being small was an advantage in that the space he'd managed to wedge himself into under the main deck was practically invisible from below, though it was incredibly uncomfortable, which was why he was trying to distract himself by listening to the noise of the ship, but that irritated him further.

It was almost dawn before Rayden heard the crew returning. He tensed as some came below deck and passed below where he was hiding, but not a single Neopet glanced upwards. He exhaled the breath he was holding quietly and grinned. _They'll never find me here._

Because he had received so little sleep the night before he fell asleep to the sound of the captain bellowing, "The tide has turned! Mount those ropes and get us moving!"

– – –

Another impatient Neopet strode through the door to his small office, the line that could be seen waiting outside the door looked as long as ever. This one was a Rainbow Kyrii. Under one arm she carried a squirming Baby Pteri that was squawking in an annoying high pitched voice and the other she carried a sack of what was presumably neopoints.

"Good morning Madam, how may I help you today?" It paid to be polite to the customers, despite the annoyed look that flashed across her face. While they would keep coming back regardless of how he behaved, they tended to be more pleasant if he was.

The Kyrii let her sack clank down hard on to his patterned brown plastic desk. "Find me some bottled faeries, I don't care what kind, as long as they are under 3000NP." She said, very frustrated. At these words the Pteri calmed down enough to be quiet.

"Please wait a moment Madam, I'm conducting the search now." The Shop Wizard turned to his computer and set the search going; Bottled Faerie, Under 3000NP. Almost immediately the search ended. No result. "I'm sorry Madam, there are no bottled faeries for that price in Neopia Central market place. Would you like me to search the other markets?" The Pteri suddenly looked like it was going to start crying again. The Kyrii took one look at her and replied almost immediately.

"Yes! Corany insists that she have a faerie ability like her friends to show off. I haven't had a moment's peace since."

The Shop Wizard frowned as he again turned to his terminal and started the search. Again, nothing. He tried again. "The faeries are living creatures Madam and don't like being stuck in bottles, they only bless a 'Pet because they are grateful for being released. Don't think of them as commodities." The JubJub glanced at his customer, it did not appear that she appreciated the lecture.

Nothing.

He tried the last market, that over in the Haunted Woods. Once more there wasn't anything. "Sorry, there are no bottled faeries in Neopia for 3000NP or less."

"Fine, do an unrestricted search, all market places."

Ah finally, a hit. He almost couldn't wait to be rid of this Kyrii. "The cheapest price I've found is 6000NP."

"What! I checked the prices on the Notice Board only three days ago and 3000NP was the asking price. Why would the prices have changed so dramatically in such a short period of time?" She was beginning to look quite frantic, especially as Corany had started screeching again.

He patiently decided to explain, perhaps she would be satisfied with what he had found. "If you read the Neopian Times you would have discovered that Balthazar has reduced the number of captured faeries that he has been giving to the money tree. No one knows why. Consequently the prices have risen as they become scarcer."

He heard murmuring in the corridor. He sighed. There was nothing he could do about the prices, he only looked them up.

The Kyrii hesitated for a moment more and then replied, "Fine, give me the address and type of faerie. I'll take it."

He printed out the information, and took the required amount. "It should be in your inventory now. Good day Madam."

She nodded once sharply and strode out, "Oh, thankyou Mummy, now all my friends can envy me too!" Corany's voice was heard following her mother.

"Next!" He called. And so his day continued. He wasn't the only Shop Wizard in Neopia, but they all looked identical so one was hard pressed to notice this fact. However sometimes he felt that he was.

– – –

A small green Lupe wearing a fake eye-patch cackled, throwing his mug into the air, as he recited the last of the story, "And that is how you know never to trust Red Koi!" In the murky bar, answering laughter greeted him. He downed his drink and grinned as he leapt from his perch on a bar stool.

Loharn enjoyed making up stories for the benefit of others, especially this crowd as they were easier to please. If he did say something that had offended another 'Pet, they all soon learned never to pick a fight with him. Despite his size he fought well and he also fought dirty. He placed his mug on the counter and accepted the 5 neopoint coin the bar tender flicked at him. He gave a false salute on his way out.

He loved Krawk Island. It was the place he grew up. After a lot of effort he'd managed to secure himself a spot on the 90 foot long _Dragon's Bane_. The exact ship his great grandmother has served on. He was a ship's boy, which involved having his nose to the deck and soap up to his elbows most of the time, but he was honouring his ancestors and his Lupe pack which was what mattered. Besides, he was allowed to fight.

He wound his way through the narrow streets closer to the docks. Shore leave was pretty much over and you were never late returning to Captain Horat's ship. He yelped wildly in laughter when he thought about what had happened to the only crew member he'd known who came late. Several onlookers stared at him. Let them.

Lupe packs on Krawk Island were organised differently to other places since so many of them were involved in the pirating trade. Many of them actually obtained the treasure but a lot were involved in selling and distributing it safely. Because the packs were so disconnected, each member had that much more freedom, but when it came down to your ship or your pack, the pack usually won. The other main difference was that the pack leaders lived in houses on shore instead of out in the woods.

He reached the ship and scurried up the gang plank. "Ah there you are, Loharn. You missed a few spots last time you were aboard, better soap up and join the other boys." A female blue Zafara called down to him from the bow, watching as everyone returned back to the ship.

"Yes, Cap'n." He replied. He sighed as he began to work, but it was worth it. They sailed on the evening tide.

– – –

He awoke when the seas began to really roll the ship. Rayden was beginning to regret his hasty decision slightly when he realised that he didn't have any food or water. Not that he had any to bring with him, but that was irrelevant now. It was going to be hard to steal anything on a ship this size, which had fifty crew members and he wasn't exactly sure where the… galley was anyway. At least that's what he thought the kitchen on a boat… ship was called.

He probably was going to have to risk it soon though as his stomach was going to give him away if he didn't manage to stop its grumbling even though he could last a while without eating. He hadn't eaten for about six hours now, at least not anything decent.

Actually, now that he thought about it, it was a lot noisier on the top deck all of a sudden, and he couldn't hear anyone else below deck with his sensitive ears. The ship lurched abruptly which startled Rayden, though he was too secure to fall. He wasn't entirely sure what was happening, but this was his chance.

As quietly as he could he dropped to the wooden deck below and winced at the fact he'd managed to get splinters in his front paws from where he was gripping the beam. His rear paws had not suffered the same fate for the deck had been worn smooth by so many feet running over it. He crouched quietly while he removed the worst of the splinters and glanced up to the corner where he had managed to wedge his possession. It would have clanked had he jumped down with it and since it would only hamper his movement from now on he left it where it was. _It'll be safe there,_ he reassured himself.

_Now, where is the food…_ Rayden sniffed the air and then began to make his way to where his stomach would be happy, just as the _Prancing Waves_ seemed to jump underneath him.

– – –

"Cap'n, I don't like the look of those waves or the feel of this wind!" A yellow Wocky called from the crows nest, cupping her hands over her mouth. Exactly why chance had decided that she had to be the one on watch so that she could deliver news about a possible storm, Droake wasn't sure. She was getting the feeling that someone didn't like her.

"Aye Droake, looks like a storm!" Captain Terius replied. He wasn't happy about the news, especially after all his plans had been working so well. Up until this point. The weather was not something he could control however and so he began to yell orders to deal with the situation. "First Mate! Reef the sails and release the storm sails. Relieve the tillerman, I'll be taking the helm."

"Aye, sir!" The white Flotsam saluted and then scrambled to follow the orders.

The Captain shook his head slightly and muttered, "It's all very well to show respect, but only for parade. On my ship, obeying orders immediately is plenty of respect." He went to the stern, barely noticing the movement of the ship and grabbed the wheel as the red Acara released it.

_Aim 45 degrees down the waves, that's the safest route._

– – –

Unlike the crew of the ship, Rayden was not navigating the changing landscape that was the deck all that well. It probably didn't help that it was gloomy; what little light there was barely penetrated. He'd already hit a number of the crates of cargo and half tangled himself up in a sleeping hammock, and from what he could tell, it was getting worse. Luckily the noise on deck was enough to cover the sounds. Finally he reached the ladder that would take him to the main deck. There was no direct route that remained under the deck. When he glanced out briefly there was so much running around there would be no way that they would notice him.

He took a deep breath, hit the side of the opening as the ship jerked again and ran for it. It wasn't far and he was halfway down the stairwell before he stopped and listened to see if anyone was left in the galley. Hearing no one he completed his journey to the deck and stumbled to the ground. His palms throbbed when he hit the floor, in the spots he couldn't remove the splinters. He let out a slight gasp of pain and realised he was wet. It was raining.

He shook himself off and dashed into the galley, grabbed the nearest thing that smelled like food, gobbled it down and partly gagged. It was awful! No matter, he grabbed a bit more and swallowed that as well. That settled his stomach and would probably last a while.

Rayden then repeated the manoeuvre, noticing that not only was it raining, but spray was breaking over the rails. _I hope we don't sink._ He stumbled past the cargo hold but as he reached the sleeping quarters he realised that two sailors were behind him. Probably anyone who wasn't needed was being sent down to batten down the hatches.

He looked for somewhere to hide. He wouldn't be able to get back to his spot in time. There wasn't much. Two layers of hammocks, three deep. A few wooden chests, probably for personal items, all visibly locked and some spare rope and a little debris piled up in some of the corners. He raced to the back and hid himself under a hammock in the corner. It was tightly woven and was close to the ground. It was also dark. Hopefully they wouldn't notice him under it. His heart rate began to increase.

One of them was a Korbat. His vision was not impaired by the gloom and his ultrasound soon picked a lump where there wasn't supposed to be a lump. He gestured to his partner and approached Rayden's hiding place.

Rayden was trembling. _Please, oh please_. No luck, a purple claw reached down and grabbed him by the scruff of the neck. He stared into the angry eyes of a female Draik. "And what do we have here? Looks like a stowaway to me." The deck heaved but not one of the two even stumbled.

"We'll take him to the Captain after the storm passes. He'll decide what to do with him."

Rayden glanced at the blue Korbat, utterly rigid with fright. What would the Captain do to him… And how would he get his artefact back?


	3. Chapter 3

There was a clearing. There wasn't anything particularly remarkable about it. It wasn't peculiarly large nor absurdly small. The light filtered through the trees to illuminate it gloomily the way it did in every other part of the Woods. There was a rotten log in the middle overgrown with moss and some small weeds that had brightly coloured flowers. The grass was perhaps waist deep. The clearing wasn't even all that circular.

Yet there was an unmistakable figure sitting off to one side under a warped tree.

_Surely he is aware of our presence?_ In the mind of the owner the thought seemed to reverberate because it was so quiet and was instantly regretted. The figure didn't even twitch. They had been skulking in the shadows for the last hour or so watching the figure apparently staring into space. Because they had both fear and reverence for this particular denizen of the woods they hadn't budged since, but it was beginning to get quite uncomfortable. He glanced at his companions and they looked back at him. He was the leader, the looks said, how should we behave? Without giving it more thought he acted. Whatever forest creatures that had not fled from the other figure now fled from his pack as he approached.

He was stared at, those cold yellow eyes boring into his own and he hesitated, then thankfully those eyes turned to the rest of his pack, all eight of them. He continued a little further coming to a complete stop about two metres away from where _he_ sat. Those eyes were on him again. 'Lord Balthazar.' It was a statement filled with awe. His voice did not stutter and he sank immediately into the pose that visibly showed that he accepted who was master in this situation. His pack followed suit immediately.

Not a breath of air twitched in the age it took for Balthazar to reply. 'What is your request?'

Those eyes were back on him, he could feel it. His fur stiffened in response. 'Our request is simply to know what it is that has brought you to our patch of the woods. Perhaps we may be of assistance.' The phrase _our patch_ contained a strong note of pride. He raised his head slightly, and moved into a comfortable standing position at an almost imperceptible movement. His pack followed after a spilt second of surprise.

'I am looking for someone. A strong Lupe. Arrange the Koulorn.' He turned and began to gracefully move away. 'And involve some of your fellow pack leaders…'

'Alizarin, Lord.'

He received a single nod in reply. 'You and your pack shall be responsible, Alizarin.' And suddenly Balthazar was swallowed by the shadows beneath the trees leaving Alizarin's pack to carry out the orders they'd been given.

* * *

A glack chirped.

Repeatedly.

It was pierced with a glare. The glack insolently decided not to notice and kept on chirping.

A black claw swiped down towards it and the glack rapidly decided to find someplace else to chirp. And someone else to irritate.

Balthazar sighed in annoyance. It was not going well. Alizarin's pack had not been the first with whom he had accidentally encountered but he had finally had enough. He needed some entertainment and a Koulorn sounded like exactly the right idea. He might even find an apprentice at the end of it. The only downside was that it took a few weeks to prepare.

He was seated on an outcropping of rock which began a vertical cliff of about ten metres. The vegetation was much lower to the ground here and it was completely open to the sky above, allowing the warm sunlight to soothe him. He stretched appreciatively.

Not a single Lupe he'd come across had had the right combination of qualities. Some were too strong; not strong enough, too stupid, too lazy, too hesitant, too eager, too clumsy. Too disrespectful. This was an important point. It was hardly blatant but in a limited number of Lupes it was there. When this current issue was resolved he'd have to do something about that.

His eyes suddenly became attracted to the forest spread below him. He twitched ever so slightly to improve his view but otherwise his strong form remained motionless. No movement was wasted. He inhaled sharply as he spotted it again and began to slowly reach for his equipment. The tiny speck of light that flitted through the trees didn't appear to notice. _Good. One that was young, stupid and probably impressionable._ He had the net in his hands and a clear, round bottomed bottle ready and so he waited as the little faerie worked its careless way towards him, oblivious to him as it was to the terrain around it.

Faeries loved the sky; the higher, the better.

This one was singing softly. Something peaceful. Balthazar could hear it as it approached the ledge. That would soon change. It moved higher and a brief gust of wind blew it closer to his position. As it glanced up in annoyance it suddenly realised that he was not just another rock. The net trapped it as it gave its first yelp.

Balthazar grinned in pleasure as his strong fist grabbed the Light Faerie and pushed it expertly into his glass bottle. 'Before you go on to the market, Light Faerie, we are going to have a discussion.' He said as he brought the bottle up level to his eyes.

The faerie's thin wail of fright could be heard through the air holes.

* * *

There was a very loud, very sharp crack. Despite his fear, Rayden started involuntarily. The two sailors who had found him cursed loudly and ran towards the cargo hold. Rayden was dragged along swinging in the Draik's claws. He was beginning to feel very sick. Abruptly he was thrown to the rolling deck and landed hard on his side. 'Stay there!' Came the yelled instruction. 'The Captain's going to have to wait until we're out of this storm for the pleasure of your company, Lupe!'

He dared to open his tightly shut eyes and saw what had broken. It was one of the cargo crates, spilling bagged plant material around the place. A few of them had broken. Rayden winced at the pain in his paws as he struggled to remain as flat on the deck as possible, not moving. He was terrified not only with his upcoming 'meeting', but the violent movement of the ship.

The two crew members looked as though they were trying to secure the rest of the crates more firmly. They seemed to be rolling with each pitch and yaw. That didn't prevent them cursing however, when they managed to fall against the cargo they were trying to protect. What little light there was left flickered erratically, casting changing patterns on the wooden beams and planks.

The Korbat let out a high pitched screech and a few more crew came down to help. They missed him braced against the hull, more concerned with what they saw had happened. 'The Cap'n'll have our hides if we lose any of the cargo!' One bellowed.

'After all we went through to get it, you're right he will!' Another replied. Quite quickly it became obvious that the crew had succeeded in resecuring everything. Rayden tried to remain as still as possible in the hope that he might just disappear.

'Get up Lupe.' Rayden glanced up quickly. It was the Korbat and he looked angry. The other members of the crew were leaving the cargo hold to return to their duties above deck. A few were giving the renewed confrontation some interest but none paused. 'Brings bad luck to have a stowaway aboard,' came a muttered comment. He tried to get to his feet, but swayed almost immediately. The Korbat reached out with a grimace to steady him. 'No sea legs either. It's just a storm.' Rayden couldn't utter a sound.

Without warning, Rayden's stomach gave a heave. It must have shown on his face for he was dragged rapidly over the rocking deck through to the place where he had hidden and brought to a small porthole that had been latched shut. Once his stomach had finished its protesting, he fell to the deck, wet with spray and groaned. 'I give it a few more hours then Terius will decide what to do with you.' The Korbat grinned. 'Try and enjoy it while it lasts.'

* * *

The sea was finally calm again and there were only the rags of the storm clouds left. Loharn was again up the rigging reefing the storm sails and releasing the others along with several other ships' boys. He had also been one of the ones who had had to climb up in the storm to take care of the sails. It had been swinging more wildly than the bucking uni ride at the fair last month, not to mention the strength of the wind.

No one could doubt his courage or his strength. Too soon however he was back down below and ordered by a higher ranking deckhand to check the cargo. 'Yessir!' He answered promptly and ran to take care of it. 'Some storm wasn't it Jacob?' He called to his friend and fellow ships' boy.

'Aye, that it was Loharn.' The blue Acara gestured to one of the numerous hatches. 'You first or me?' Without waiting for a reply, he dashed down the ladder and began to do an inventory of the cargo. 'Nice ridin' up the rigging by the way.' He called over.

'It was nothing.' Loharn said, bursting with pride as he joined his friend. He scowled playfully at him. 'Didn't even give me a chance to come down the ladder. Bet I check more than you do.'

'You snooze you lose,' Jacob replied with a glance before disappearing between the crates. 'And what do you have to bet?'

Loharn proceeded to imitate his friend as he began the stock taking. 'You get to be the hero in my next story and I'll take your duties if you win. You'll do mine if I win.' Someone would be coming after them to check that they'd done a proper job. Most ships' boys had a problem with numbers, but it would still possible to get an approximate tally for the bet. Loharn didn't know why they bothered to make ships' boys do it really.

'Deal,' came the echoed response. The light was dim and filled with dust motes from the crates which tended to muffle sound, so he hadn't noticed two of his fellow shipmates having some time alone in the next isle he came to. They were of his own rank. He smirked; time to collect some blackmail material. They turned around startled and Loharn quickly got what he expected - lighter duties for the next few days which would offset his bet with Jacob. As soon as the Cabin Master finds them they'd be put off ship anyway, he thought as they hurried away.

They'd be making landfall within that time period at Mystery Island, flying legitimate flags of course and seemingly legitimate cargo. Just a short trip. It wasn't that far from home base. 'See, told you I'd win!' Jacob's voice surprised him from the other side of the cargo bay.

'There's still the next hold!' He answered and hurried to catch up with his friend.

Time to stop day dreaming.

* * *

Finally the rocking stopped. Well mostly. Rayden could hear the wind slapping water from the gentle swell against the hull. He certainly felt that he was going to be alright for a while if he made it through the interview with Captain… Terius. He uncurled himself and looked resignedly up at his guard, fear replaced by exhaustion. 'Get going Lupe. Cap'n's quarters.'

He began his trip as fast as he dared with the Korbat behind him. Once on the upper deck he looked around at the organised chaos, then up at the flag on the mast and froze. A sharp shove sent him sprawling to the deck and he hurriedly got up to avoid the following kick. He gulped. He was in more trouble than he'd thought.

A sharp rap on a solid wood door came before a call to enter. The door was pushed open and Rayden was frogmarched into the tiny room. He took one look at the Captain and nearly fainted. Terius was a Halloween Ixi!

'And what exactly do we have here, Norax?' Terius' voice grumbled low and frightening. There was a hard light in his eyes and a pronounced frown on his face.

'Stowaway sir!'

Rayden watched as the Captain flicked his eyes over him and trembled when their eyes met. Terius began tapping out a rhythmic beat on the wooden desk. He quietly asked, 'And do you know exactly how he managed to get aboard?' At Norax's negative response, his eyes settled back over Rayden. 'Well?'

Rayden dropped his head and opened his mouth to speak but fright had again returned and froze his tongue. Norax shoved him again and he managed to give a vague account. 'It-it was dark… I couldn't s-see anyone… went to the front of the boat a-and saw that there was a rope… almost reached a window. I swung onto it and climbed up,' his voice faded but returned enough to strangle out the last sentence, '…found the cargo area, climbed into the rafters and hid.' He held up his paws with their splinters. 'See?'

During his recital, Terius never stopped his tapping. His gaze slipped away from Rayden and he sagged slightly in relief. 'Norax, exactly why had no guards been placed to secure the hold? Or for that matter, why were there no sentries posted?' Terius' demeanour, which had been intimidating before became downright menacing.

'The ship was made secure and in our grasp. All the crew had been… removed successfully. We felt that all possible avenues of entry had been sealed off!' Norax was looking rather panicky. 'Besides, you'd have to be very agile to repeat that manouver!'

Rayden felt a bit bewildered by the references to goings on that he had no knowledge about. Somehow, his finder was in trouble and he got the feeling that he was not going to be thrown overboard to try and make his own way back to shore.

Terius partly rose out of his chair. Rayden noticed a large map adorned the wall behind the Captain and that it had been annotated. 'A meeting with your fellow officers appears to be in order Norax!' The Captain returned sharply. 'This will not happen again!' Norax got himself under control very quickly and nodded smartly. 'As for the Lupe, he can join the cabin boys until we get to the Haunted Woods. We will take appropriate measure there. He might as well make himself useful. But he is to be restricted to the bunking area at all times unless supervised by the cabin master.' He paused. 'Get out.'

Norax obeyed dragging Rayden with him and muttered, 'Doesn't even have any sea legs.' He closed the door behind them.

Back down in the bunking area he was pushed roughly into a corner. 'We don't have any spare bunks. The corner is free for your use. The _others _will be down after the work is down to show you your place.' He grinned harshly. 'Enjoy Lupe.'

After the Korbat had left, he felt more miserable than before. What did that mean _take appropriate measures_? It was bad enough that he'd been caught stowing away on the ship. What made it worse was the fact that it was a pirate ship.

He'd been captured by pirates!


End file.
